Episode #65: Marc Johnson

As a virtuoso bassist, versatile composer, and acclaimed bandleader, Marc Johnson has been a major innovator on the jazz scene for the past two decades.

Born in Nebraska in 1953, Johnson took up bass at the age of 16, having already studied piano and cello. While completing his formal education in the celebrated music program at the University of North Texas, at age19, Johnson began performing professionally with the Fort Worth Symphony. In 1977, he was on the road with the Woody Herman Band. A stop with Herman in New York City marked a major turning point for Johnson, where he was invited to sit in with Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard. In 1978, he joined Evans' trio, remaining with him until the pianist's death two years later. Johnson appears on numerous albums recorded with Evans, including the Grammy-winning We Will Meet Again and released in 1997, a six-CD box set of live recordings, Turn Out the Stars, weaving his distinctively warm tones and melodic lines into the complex harmonies of the Trio. 

Over the past 20 years, Johnson has performed on more than 100 albums. Many have been with pianists, including Eliane Elias, Lyle Mays, and Enrico Pieranunzi, although Johnson has also recorded with saxophonists Stan Getz, Joe Lovano, and Michael Brecker, drummers Peter Erskine and Paul Motian, and Jack DeJohnette, vibist Gary Burton, and bandoneon master Dino Saluzzi. And many of his most notable recordings have been with guitarists. In addition to his long membership in guitarist John Abercrombie's trio, Johnson formed two guitar-oriented bands that rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Overpass, recorded in January and February 2018 at Nacena Studios, in São Paulo, was produced by Marc Johnson and Eliane Elias.  In this episode, Marc shares his background, education, and musical journey.

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